Pressure vessel



Dec. 21, 1954 R. M. STANLEY PRESSURE VESSEL Filed April 27, 1948 ROBERTM STANLEY INVENTOR BY 2 ATTORNEYS United States Patent PRESSURE VESSELRobert M. Stanley, Buffalo, N. Y., assignor to Bell AircraftCorporation, Wheatfield, N. Y.

Application April 27, 1948, Serial No. 23,529

8 Claims. (Cl. 158-365) This invention relates to high speed reactionmotor propelled craft, and more particularly to improvements inpropellent storage means and arrangements for supplying the propellentsto the motor means thereof.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved propellentstorage and motor supply system in reaction motor propelled craft ofhigh speed type.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved high pressureliquid storage vessel such as is particularly suited to use in certainaircraft.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a reaction motorpropelled craft an improved combination craft structure and highpressure storage means.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent in the followingdescription when considered with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary schematic longitudinal sectional view of a craftembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through one portion of theliquid storage and control means of the structure of Fig. l on a largerscale; and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration, on a reduced scale, of a modifiedpropellent control arrangement thereof.

As illustrated in the drawing at Fig. 1, the invention may be embodiedin a high speed craft comprising an externally streamlined body forminimum aerodynamic drag; the body enclosing a jet reaction motor 11arranged to discharge through a nozzle or tail pipe 12. The motor supplysystem is shown in Fig. 1 to comprise a fuel tank 14 for containing, forexample, a supply of alcohol to be employed as fuel for the motor; and atank 16 to contain, for example, a supply of liquid oxygen to beemployed as the alcohol oxidizing agent when the two materials are mixedtogether and ignited in the combustion chamber portion of the motor 11.

As is understood in the rocket motored craft art, the fuel and oxidizermaterials may be initially stored within tanks such as indicatedgenerally at 1415 and arranged to be fed therefrom to the motorapparatus by permitting a supply of pressurized nitrogen or other inertgas such as for example helium or the like, to enter the supply tanksfor displacing the fuel and oxidizer contents thereof and forcing themto flow into the motor combustion chamber. It is also appreciated thatin high speed craft especially of the airborne types, space and weightconsiderations are of prime importance; and that therefore anyappreciable reduction in the space and weight requirements of thestructure including the fuel and oxidizer and pressured gas supply tanksis of great importance.

In the case of the present invention the container means for thepressured nitrogen or the like is provided mainly in the form of seriesconnected tubular reservoirs which are coiled to form the cylindricalwall portions of the fuel and oxidizer tanks 1416. Also, a suitableconduit system is provided for leading the pressured nitrogen to travelthrough a novel heat exchange path arrangement relative to the contentsof the fuel and oxidizer supply tanks prior to being discharged into thetanks for displacing the fuel-oxidizer contents thereof. For example,more specifically as shown in Fig. 2, the oxidizer supply tank 16comprises circular dlished end plates 2022 welded to opposite ends of arelatively thin cylindrical wall sheet 24 for resisting the end burstingloads. A liquid oxygen inlet conduit 26 is fitted upon one of the tankend plates and includes a valve 28 for control of the tank loadingoperation. An oxygen outlet conduit 30 is also arranged in communicationwith the interior of 2,697,483 Patented Dec. 21, 1954 the tank 16 and ismounted upon the end plate 20 by means of a fitting 32, and then leadsto the mixing chamber portion of the motor 11. A control valve 34 isarranged in the conduit 30 as illustrated in Fig. l to control deliveryof oxygen to the motor. Similarly, the alcohol or other fuel tank 14comprises end plates 3638 which are welded to opposite ends of a thincylindrical wall sheet 39; and a fuel inlet conduit 40 carrying acontrol valve 42 is arranged for loading the fuel tank from externallyof the craft, while a discharge conduit 44 carrying a control valve 46is arranged to convey the fuel to the motor 11. Preferably, as shown inthe drawing, the propellent delivery conduits 30-44 will be formed withpick-up end portions 4748, respectively, interiorly of the tanks topermit only minimum dilution of the combustion producing substances withthe replacement nitrogen, as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

As shown in greater detail in Fig. 2, the primary wall structure of thepressurized nitrogen container means of the system comprises a coiledtubular section designated 50 which consists of a tubular conduithelically wound in contiguously related convolutions, the coil beingdimensioned according to the volumetric capacity requirements of thetank 16. Similarly, the fuel tank 14 includes a helically coiled tubesection 52 which comprises the main cylinder wall portion of the tank14. Thus, the coiled tube sections 5tl52 are each enclosed peripherallyby external fairing in the form of the cylinder walls 2439 which arewelded to the ends of the tanks as indicated at 54, so that the coiledsections and the cylinder walls structurally cooperate to resist all ofthe pressure forces from within the tanks. For example, when the tanksare pressure loaded as will be explained hereinafter, the forces tendingto expand the cylinder walls radially are resisted primarily by tensionloadings of the coiled tubing, while the cylindrically bent wall sheetsby virtue of their longitudinal strength support the end walls againstrelative displacement and also resist the torsional loads due to anunwinding tendency of the coils such as would otherwise permit unwindingof the coils and consequent expansion of the coil diameter dimensions inresponse to radially directed expansion loads thereon; therebypermitting an optimum weight-to-strength design of the overall wallstructures of the tanks. In this respect it will be appreciated that thecoiled tube sections provide the primary resistance to the forcestending to expand the tanks radially and are backed up by thecylindrical Wall sheets 2439. As illustrated at 55 in Fig. 2, a gassealing membrane of relatively thin sheet material is provided to linethe interior of the coiled tubing sections so as to insure against gasescape through crevices between the tube convolutions.

It is a particular feature of the present invention that the pressurednitrogen containing elements thereof are designed to provide completedisplacements of fuel and oxidant from their respective reservoirsthrough use of a reduced quantity of pressured nitrogen. This isaccomplished by connecting the nitrogen supply inlet conduit 60 into theleft hand end portion of the coiled tube 50 as shown in the drawings,while connecting the coils 50-52 of the tanks 14--16 in series as bymeans of an intercommunicating conduit 62 leading from the right handend portion of the coil 50 and into the left hand end portion of thecoil 52. As indicated at 64 (Fig. 1) the right hand end of the coil 52then connects into a return conduit 66 which leads through a controlvalve 68 into a pressure regulator 70. The regulator 70 is provided witha pair of outlets connecting to conduits 7274 leading through the tankend plates and into the interiors of the tanks 16--14, respectively. Aloading control valve 75 is shown in the line of the nitrogen supplyconduit 60.

Thus, it will be appreciated that the apparatus of the invention may beloaded by pumping alcohol or other fuel through the valve 42 into thetank 14 while the valve 46 is closed; and by pumping liquid oxygen orother oxidizer material through the valve 28 into the tank 16 while thevalve 34 is kept closed. The nitrogen supply may then be let in throughthe valve 75 under great pressure so as to fill the coils 50-52 and theconduits 6266 while the valve 68 is maintained closed. The craft is thenready for operation, and the motor 11 may be set into operation byopening the valves 683446. The pressure regulator '70 will of course bepreselected and adjusted so as to deliver nitrogen through the conduits72 74 at the prescribed pressures throughout the operational range, andit will be understood that the nitrogen will thus be permitted to enterthe tanks 14-16 so as to gradually displace the fuel and oxidizercontents thereof into the motor combustion chamber.

As explained hereinabove, it is a particular feature of the arrangementof the present invention that the nitrogen flows through the coil 52just prior to its delivery through the pressure reducer into the tanksl4-16. Therefore, although the portion of the nitrogen supply which isinitially stored in the coil 50 of the liquid oxygen tank 16 becomesexcessively cooled because of its heat contact relation with the oxygen,it is subsequently guided to flow helically through the coil 52 which isin heat exchange contact relation with the relatively warmer contents ofthe fuel tank 14, and thereby becomes heated. This increases thevolumetric displacement capacity of the stored nitrogen, andcorrespondingly greatly reduces the volumetric dimensions requirementsof the nitrogen storage coils.

As shown in Fig. 3, the propellent tanks may be furnished with suitableexpansible bladders as indicated at 76, so as to avoid commingling ofthe propellents and the displacement gas as the latter is released toforce the propellents out of the tanks and into the motor. Although onlyone application of the invention has been illustrated and described indetail herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that theinvention is not so limited but that various changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a propellant storage and supply system, a first storage cylindercarrying a propellant substance of low temperature, a second storagecylinder carrying a propellant substance of higher temperature,discharge conduits leading separately from said cylinders to deliver thecontents thereof to the point of use, and a compressed gas systemcomprising a pair of gas storage means each in the form of a coiled tubesection constituting the primary structural portions of the cylinderwalls of said first and second cylinders, said coiled tube sectionsbeing interconnected in series and having a gas delivery conduitconnected thereto at one end of said second cylinder and leadingtherefrom to deliver the gas into the V interiors of both of saidcylinders, means lining said coiled tube sections to prevent fluidleakage outwardly between the coil convolutions thereof, and valve meanscontrolling the flow of gas from said system into said cylinders,whereby upon release of the gas to flow into said cylinders fordisplacing the propellants therefrom the gas moves through the tubesection of said second cylinder just prior to its passage into saidcylinders.

2. In a propellant storage and supply system, a first cylindricallyshaped tank carrying a propellant substance of low temperature, a secondcylindrically shaped tank carrying a propellant substance of highertemperature, discharge conduits leading separately from said tanks todeliver the contents thereof to the point of use, and a compressed gassystem comprising gas storage means of coiled tube form having first andsecond sections thereof comprising the primary structural portions ofthe cylinder walls of said first and second tanks, said coiled tubesections being connected in series and having a gas delivery conduitconnected thereto at one end of said second tank and leading therefromto deliver said gas into the interiors of both of said tanks, and valvemeans controlling the flow of gas from said system into said tanks,whereby upon release of gas to flow into said tanks for displacing thepropellants therefrom the gas moves through the tube section of saidsecond tank just prior to its passage into said tanks.

3. In a propellant storage and supply system, a first storage cylindercarrying a propellant substance of low temperature, a second storagecylinder carrying a propellant substance of higher temperature,discharge conduits leading separately from said cylinders to deliver thecontents thereof to the point of use, and a compressed gas systemcomprising a pair of gas storage means each in the form of a coiled tubesection constituting the primary structural portions of the cylinderwalls of said first and second cylinders, said coiled tube sectionsbeing interconnected in series and having a gas delivery conduitconnected thereto at one end of said second cylinder and leadingtherefrom through a pressure regulator to deliver the gas into theinteriors of both of said cylinders, means lining each of said coiledtube sections to prevent fluid leakage outwardly through the coil convolutions thereof, and valve means controlling the flow of propellantsfrom said cylinders and of gas from said system into said cylinders,whereby upon release of the gas to flow into said cylinders fordisplacing the propellants therefrom the gas moves through the tubesection of said second cylinder just prior to its passage into saidcylinders while the propellants are displaced and fed to the point ofuse.

4. In a propellant storage and supply system, a first cylindricallyshaped tank carrying a propellant substance of low temperature, a secondcylindrically shaped tank carrying a propellant substance of highertemperature, discharge conduits leading separately from said tanks todeliver the contents thereof to the point of use, and a compressed gassystem comprising gas storage means of coiled tube form having first andsecond sections thereof comprising the primary structural portions ofthe cylinder walls of said first and second tanks, said coiled tubesections being connected in series and having a gas delivery conduitconnected thereto at one end of said second tank and leading therefromthrough a pressure regulator to deliver said gas into the interiors ofboth of said tanks, and valve means controlling the flow of propellantsto said point of use and of gas from said system into said tanks,whereby upon release of gas to flow into said tanks for displacing thepropellants therefrom the gas moves through the tube section of saidsecond tank just prior to its passage into said tanks.

5. In a propellant storage and supply system, a first storage cylindercarrying a propellant substance of low temperature, a second storagecylinder carrying a propellant substance of higher temperature,discharge conduits leading separately from said cylinders to deliver thecontents thereof to the point of use, and a compressed gas systemcomprising a pair of gas storage means each in the form of a coiled tubesection constituting the primary structural portions of the cylinderwalls of said first and second cylinders, a membrane interiorly of eachof said coiled tube sections for sealing the latter against leakagesbetween adjacent tube convolutions, a flexible bladder interiorly ofeach of said cylinders, said coiled tube sections being interconnectedin series and having a gas delivery conduit connected thereto at one endof said second cylinder and leading therefrom to deliver the gas intothe interiors of both of said bladders, and valve means controlling theflow of gas from said system into said bladders whereby upon release ofthe gas to flow into said cylinders for displacing the propellantstherefrom the gas moves through the tube section of said second cylinderjust prior to its passage into said bladders.

6. In a propellant storage and supply system, a first cylindricallyshaped tank carrying a propellant substance of low temperature, a secondcylindrically shaped tank carrying a propellant substance of highertemperature, discharge conduits leading separately from said tanks todeliver the contents thereof to the point of use, and a compressed gassystem comprising gas storage means of coiled tube form having first andsecond sections thereof comprising the primary structural portions ofthe cylinder walls of said first and second tanks, said coiled tubesections being connected in series and having a gas delivery conduitconnected thereto at one end of said second tank and leading therefromto deliver said gas through pressure regulating means into the interiorsof both of said tanks, at fluid sealing member lining each of saidcoiled tube sections to prevent leakages through spaces between coilconvolutions of said sections, a streamlined shell member enclosing eachof said coiled tube sections, and valve means controlling the flow ofgas from said system into said tanks whereby upon release of gas to flowinto said tanks for displacing the propellants therefrom the gas movesthrough the tube section of said second tank just prior to its passageinto said tanks.

7. In combination, a pressure storage tank of cylindrical form and ahigher pressure gas storage system, said system including a coil ofhelically wound tubular structure formed to comprise the primarycylinder wall structure of said tank, a membrane fitted interiorly ofsaid tubular structure to seal the latter against leakage through thespaces between the convolutions of said coil, said tank structure alsoincluding end wall members and an outer cylindrical shell, said shellbeing fixed to said end Wall members whereby the end thrust loads onsaid tank are taken by said shell and the radial expansion loads aretaken by said coil and the unwinding tendency of said coil is resistedby said shell.

8. In combination, a pressure storage tank of cylindrical form and ahigher pressure gas storage system for displacing the contents of saidtank, said system including a coiled tubular member formed to comprisethe primary cylinder wall structure of said tank as Well as the primarystorage space for the gas, means sealing the tubular member againstleakage through spaces between adjacent coil convolutions, said tankstructure also in- 15 2,406,926

5 by said coiled tubular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 10Number Name Date 694,305 Branch Feb. 25, 1902 1,155,622 Seitz Oct. 5,1915 2,366,140 Alderfer Dec. 26, 1944 2,395,113 Goddard Feb. 16, 1946Summerfield Sept. 3, 1946

